Often a telephone subscriber or user may have access to multiple end user terminals (EUTs), which may each be associated with different networks or services. For example, a user may have a landline telephone at their home and/or one at their office, as well a mobile telephone. Alternately, a user may have multiple mobile telephones, e.g., one for work and one for personal use. In yet another case a user may have a single device that incorporates two or more separate EUTs such as a “dual mode” wireless device that can support voice communications over both cellular and WiFi networks.
In telecommunications networks, a call forwarding function or service is generally well known. Typically, when a call is placed by a calling party to a called party, e.g., over a public switched telephone network (PSTN), if the called party subscribes to the call forwarding feature or service and it has been previously activated by the called party, then the call is routed not to the directory number (DN) called or dialed by the calling party, but rather, to an alternate DN designated by the called party ahead of time, e.g., when the feature was previously activated. While generally adequate for its intended purpose, traditional call forwarding has certain limitations. For example, the feature is only effective for future calls. That is to say, the service is only effective at rerouting calls placed to the subscriber's DN after the call forwarding feature has been activated. More specifically, the call forwarding feature does not permit the forwarding of a call currently or already in progress.
Nevertheless, there are some times when a user may desire to forward a call already in progress from the current DN to another different DN. In other words, a user may desire, mid-call, to hand-off or transfer a call from the EUT currently being used to participate in the call to another different EUT. Consider, for example, a case where a call is currently in progress between two parties, and assume that one of the parties is using a mobile telephone to participate in the call. At some point during the call, the party on the mobile telephone may desire to have the call switched to a nearby or otherwise accessible landline telephone, e.g., because their mobile signal is getting weak, because they desire better sound quality, because they desire to conserve mobile air time minutes, because their mobile telephone's battery is running low, etc. In another example, a party currently participating in a call on their landline telephone, may desire to continue the call on their mobile telephone so that they can travel freely from the vicinity of their landline telephone, e.g., to run an errand, leave the office, head for a meeting, or for any other reason.
Traditional call forwarding does not accommodate the aforementioned situations. Consequently, the party desiring to switch to another EUT mid-call, typically has to let the other party known of their intent, then the parties hang-up (i.e., end the current call) so that a new call can be established using the other EUT. Such an option or approach, however, can be undesirable. For example, some telephone users may find it inconvenient, it may not be clear which party is to initiate the subsequent new call, or an ill timed intervening call may interrupt the parties' plans for the new call.
Accordingly, a new and improved mid-call hand-off service and/or feature is disclosed that overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.